A Few Tips for The Last of Us

Paul Tassi
, ContributorNews and opinion about video games, technology and the internetOpinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own.

The Last of Us is finally out, and now I get to share in the joy of having others play it, as there have been few others to talk to about the game when I beat my review copy a week ago. I'll probably have some commentary about the surely controversial ending soon, but first I thought I'd chime in with a few tips regarding gameplay I didn't cover or only brushed on during my official review.

Obviously, part of the fun of the game is figuring out how to play it as you go, but that said, I don't think a few non-spoilery tips about early game decisions will hurt. Read on if you like, or simply figure everything out for yourself as you play. Up to you.

- First of all, you can't think you're going to play this game like a normal third person shooter. You will undoubtedly try to at the beginning, and will get incredibly frustrated at the "clunky" controls and your lack of ammo. Stealth is key, but even when things spill into open combat, running and hiding and living to fight another day is often your best bet. Breaking line of sight and sneaking back around for the kill is almost always a better plan than rampaging around in the open.

- Your first gun upgrades should be the holsters for your long gun and pistol, which will allows easy access to two more weapons which you will absolutely need as soon as possible.

- Be careful sinking points into reload speed. If you're shooting enough where you really care about how long it takes to reload on the fly, you're probably not conserving ammo well enough. The exception to this is the shell-by-shell shotgun, which can benefit more from reload speed than the others.

- Get the rifle scope as soon as you can, it turns that gun from useless into essential instantly.

- Don't underestimate the bow. I began most encounters stealth killing as many people as I could with the bow as it's quiet, usually a one-hit kill and you can retrieve its arrows. Once you're discovered (and you almost certainly will be) you can switch to your other guns. But never lead with them unless you have to.

- When it comes to the Infected, more often than not, you don't want to fight them unless the game is literally forcing you to. Runners, because of their sight, are actually more dangerous than clickers and will mob you like Justin Bieber fans in a hurry. Clickers can kill you in one hit, but if you walk slowly enough, you can almost always creep by them, even a room full of them.

- The brick/bottle throw into stun-execute is an amazing combo that will save you in a scramble many times, or can be great for stealth takedowns at range. Always have a brick on you.

- The enemy AI can't see Ellie, so you don't have to freak out if you think she can be spotted. This is an immersion breaking glitch in my opinion, but it makes gameplay easier because you almost never have to watch Ellie.

- Upgrading crafting speed isn't terribly useful as the vast majority of the time you won't be crafting on the fly, and the extra half second it saves isn't worth it. In tandem with this, always craft during down time, and if you're crafting inventory is "full" of a certain item, use it. You will end up using nearly every thing you make when you get desperate enough in a fight.

- Constantly keep your melee weapon upgraded with a one hit kill add-on, it will save you a lot of headaches. Also, when you get an axe, hold onto it. It's the best melee item I found in the game, and I never let it break once I had it. It served me well.

- This may seem obvious, but explore. In most games this is option, in The Last of Us, it is not. Without proper crafting supplies or upgrades, the game will be significantly more annoying to play as you find yourself constantly starving for ammo or items.

That's most of the basics, but perhaps I'll add more as I remember them. Happy hunting! (Or more appropriately, horribly depressing, brutal hunting!) Enjoy the experience and don't rush through it simply to find the next battle sequence, you won't regret it.